"ONE GOD, ONE CREED" -[Part-1] Indus Valley Religion

Society Religion & Philosophy
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:salam2:

Previous Reference: Part B: http://www.paklinks.com/gs/religion-and-scripture/573287-one-god-one-creed-the-indus-valley-and-noah-a-s.html

Part ‘C’

Scholars do not give a definite opinion on the religious philosophy prevalent in the Indus Valley Civilization. Some suggest that the worship of Siva, of the **Phallus **and of a goddess prevailed there. Excavation have brought to light many phallic images, and female figures carrying children. A three-headed status was also found. **Sir John Marshall **suspests this latter one could be an image of Siva. These statuary form the basis for concluding that the cult of the Phallus, of Siva and some goddess was prevalent there. Some suggest, though, that these conclusions are ill-founded. They contend that the figure which John Marshall mistook for Siva’s does not in fact have three heads. In any case some scholars believe that idolatry was practised htere. Such forms of worship existed in Mesopotamia as well. Dr. A Ayyappan, an archaelogist, writes in his work, Indian Antiquity:

The poeple of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro had diverse physical features. Diverse forms of worship also prevailed there. Some worshipped the goddess (as they did in all West Asia). Siva was the object of worship in the form of the Linga (the phallus) and Pasupati (Lord of Animals). The figure of a three-faced, monk-like deity with a horned crown, surrounded by wild beasts, meditating in a padmaasana posture, has been engraved on some seals.

The names of some deities worshipped by the Sumerians in Noah’s time have been cited in the Qur’an. One god among them is named Suvaa-u. This Suvaa-u could well be the Siva found in the Indus Valley. The similarity in sound between ‘Siva’ and ‘Suvaa-u’ backs up this conclusion. Suvaa-u had been pointed out in Fathul Baari, and interpretatory work on Sahih al Bukhari. So the cult of Siva must have been taken up from the Summerians by the Indians, who then passed it to over the Arabs.

But scholars feel that a sect who believed in the one God also lived in the Indus Valley. Thomas writes in his The Story of the Cultural Empire of India, a summary of archaelogical findings; most scholars have arrived at the conclusion that the Sindh were monothesists.

These people, then, must have been the disciples of Prophet Noah a.s., for the Quran has stated that his religion had its basis on divine unity (Quran 71:3). It is not at all improbable for the Summerians, who set up their cultural heartland in Sapta-Sindu, to have followed the religion of their patriarch, Noah.

A few scholars have been recorded the name and attributes of the One Deity whom the 'sindh worshipped. ‘Oum’ was the name of the God, and one of his attributes was Deedivikan, about which Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad writes in his Tarjuman-ul Quran:

*The Aryans who succeeded the aborigines of India called them by the nickname **Dasyus **(slaves). The Dasyus’ fundamental conception of divinity had been founded on Oneness. They did not believe in a multiplicity of gods, but they believed in one Almighty power whom they styled ‘Oum’ which is synonymous with the Sanskrit language word Indwaan (the One). They believed that his Being rules over everything and that everything submitted to the law of life devised by Him. They also believed that one of His attributes was Deedivikan which means eternally wakeful’ or as the Qur’an puts it without rest and without sleep (Quran 2:255).

*The meaning given for the word Oum in the dictionary supports this proposition. It says the Oum is “the pranava hymn of Sudras”. That is, Oum is the God’s name which the Sudras first invoke in their prayers. (Pranava means the first word of a prayer). Now, under the Aryans the aborigines became Sudras (low caste, slaves). The Aryans used Om in the beginning of theri chants and prayers. Its meaning, of course, is ‘God’. An Encyclopaedia in Malayalam describes the word Om thus: "A parnava hymn denoting Parabrahma". Oum was a similar pranava or invocation used by the non-Aryan Sudras, and denoted One God.

In brief, a group of Sumerians worshipping One God lived in India before the advent of the Aryans. Theirs must have been the hands that erected the edifice of culture in the Indus Valley. Nevertheless, the existence of diverse nationalities in Sapta-Sindhu has been provided by the many human skeletons obtained from excavations. A.R. Parameswaran Pillai observes in his Ancient Writings:*

Anthropoligists who examined the human skeletons exhumed from Mohenjo-daro and Harappa tell us they do not belong to tmen all of the same race.*

So, if the cult of Siva and others prevailed there it must have been one of the ritual observances of the Indian aborigines. That the hands which established a culture were of monothesists seems to more logical conclusion.

References:
Ancient Writings, a book of Malayalam scripts by V.R.Parameswaran Pillai, PP-26:27
Indian Antiquity, by Dr. Ayyappan P-67
The Qur’an Ch. 71 V.23 "says that the priests advised the people addressed by Prophet Noah thus: “Forsake not your gods. Forsake not Wadd, Suvaa, Yaghuth, Ya’uq or Nasr”.
Interpretatory book on Sahih al Bukhari by Allama Ibn Hajer Asqalani P.296 Vol 10
The Story of the Cultural Empire of India by P. Thomas
Tarjauman Al Quran Vol.1 PP.129:130
The Encyclopaedia, a Sahitya Pravartaka Cooperative Society Publication (1st Edn., 1971) Vol.3 P.321
Ancient Writings by A.R. Paramesvaran, P.28

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re: "ONE GOD, ONE CREED" -[Part-1] Indus Valley Religion

I feel there are a few holes and misconceptions which can question the correctness of this post

[QUOTE]

Scholars do not give a definite opinion on the religious philosophy prevalent in the Indus Valley Civilization. Some suggest that the worship of Siva, of the Phallus **and of a goddess prevailed there. Excavation have brought to light many phallic images, and female figures carrying children. A three-headed status was also found. **Sir John Marshall **suspests this latter one could be an image of Siva. These statuary form the basis for concluding that the cult of the Phallus, of Siva and some goddess was prevalent there. Some suggest, though, that these conclusions are ill-founded. They contend that the figure which John Marshall mistook for Siva's does not in fact have three heads. In any case some scholars believe that idolatry was practised htere. Such forms of worship existed in Mesopotamia as well. **Dr. A Ayyappan, an archaelogist, writes in his work, Indian Antiquity:

The poeple of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro had diverse physical features. Diverse forms of worship also prevailed there. Some worshipped the goddess (as they did in all West Asia). Siva was the object of worship in the form of the **Linga (the phallus)* and Pasupati (Lord of Animals). The figure of a three-faced, monk-like deity with a horned crown, surrounded by wild beasts, meditating in a padmaasana posture, has been engraved on some seals*

The names of some deities worshipped by the Sumerians in Noah's time have been cited in the Qur'an. One god among them is named Suvaa-u. This Suvaa-u could well be the Siva found in the Indus Valley. The similarity in sound between 'Siva' and 'Suvaa-u' backs up this conclusion. Suvaa-u had been pointed out in Fathul Baari, and interpretatory work on Sahih al Bukhari. So the cult of Siva must have been taken up from the Summerians by the Indians, who then passed it to over the Arabs.

[/QUOTE]

  1. The symbolysm related to the lingam is more complex than to be called the"phallus" or "cult of phallus". It made it first apperaence in the Atharvaveda as a sacrificial pillar which points to the origin of Linga worship. 2.There was no cult worshipping the Phallus. The lingam and yoni is one unit. The union of lingam and yoni represents the "indivisible two-in-oneness of male and female, the passive space and active time from which all life originates" 3.Partial similarities in names aside why have there been no archeological findings in the form of seals or idols of shiva in the part of the world where Sumerians lived? If there have been, please provide the link. The seal of Pashupati found in the Indus Valley is described as" a figure sitting in a traditional cross-legged yoga pose with its hands resting on its knees." Many other seals were discovered depicting a yoga posture in the Indus Valley. Have there been any such finds in mesapotemia of Shiva or figures in Yogic poses to suggest commanality of culture and religion ?

[QUOTE]

But scholars feel that a sect who believed in the one God also lived in the Indus Valley. Thomas writes in his The Story of the Cultural Empire of India, a summary of archaelogical findings; most scholars have arrived at the conclusion that the Sindh were monothesists.

[/QUOTE]

How did they come to the conclusion of monothesist sect in polythesist Indus valley espicially in Sindh? What was the evidence that made them draw such conclusions ? Any links would be appreciated.

[QUOTE]

These people, then, must have been the disciples of Prophet Noah a.s., for the Quran has stated that his religion had its basis on divine unity (Quran 71:3). It is not at all improbable for the Summerians, who set up their cultural heartland in Sapta-Sindu, to have followed the religion of their patriarch, Noah.

[/QUOTE]

  1. Again, what is the historical evidence of the existance of Noah?
  2. What is the evidence of migration of sumerians from mesapotamia to Indus valley ?

[QUOTE]

A few scholars have been recorded the name and attributes of the One Deity whom the 'sindh worshipped. 'Oum' was the name of the God, and one of his attributes was Deedivikan, about which Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad writes in his Tarjuman-ul Quran:

The Aryans who succeeded the aborigines of India called them by the nickname **Dasyus *(slaves). The Dasyus' fundamental conception of divinity had been founded on Oneness. They did not believe in a multiplicity of gods, but they believed in one Almighty power whom they styled 'Oum' which is synonymous with the Sanskrit language word Indwaan (the One). They believed that his Being rules over everything and that everything submitted to the law of life devised by Him. They also believed that one of His attributes was Deedivikan which means eternally wakeful' or as the Qur'an puts it without rest and without sleep (Quran 2:255).

The meaning given for the word Oum in the dictionary supports this proposition. It says the Oum is "the pranava hymn of Sudras". That is, Oum is the God's name which the Sudras first invoke in their prayers. (Pranava means the first word of a prayer). Now, under the Aryans the aborigines became Sudras (low caste, slaves). The Aryans used Om in the beginning of theri chants and prayers. Its meaning, of course, is 'God'. An Encyclopaedia in Malayalam describes the word Om thus: "A parnava hymn denoting Parabrahma"*. Oum was a similar pranava or invocation used by the non-Aryan Sudras, and denoted One God.

[/QUOTE]

  1. Let me adress the issues of "Dasyu". The word "Dasyu" in vedic sanskrit literally means "enemy" not slave. There is no word for slave in Vedic sanskrit. Dasyu is a term that could also be applied to Vedic kings, if their behaviour changed. In RigVeda, king Sudas calls his enemies "Dasyu" which included Vedic peoples like the Anus, Druhyus, Turvashas, and even Purus. The Dasyus are described as a dark-skinned, harsh-spoken people. They lived in fortified places from which they sent out armies. They did not follow the vedas. But there were enimity and alliances between the "dasyus" and "Aryans". In the battle of the ten kings described in the Rigveda there are Dasas and Aryas on both sides of the battlefield and in some Rigvedic verses, the Aryas and Dasas stood united against their enemies They are described in the vedas as "those who hate devotion" or "prayer haters". May be they were ancient atheists. May be they were the origin of the Charvakas who were prominant even before Buddha. What is the evidence of a monotheistic faith followed by the Dasyus? Please don't say om as God like in your post. 2.Aum/om was first recorded in the upanishads. Is there any evidence of its existance in the Indus Valley ? A-U-M represents the divine energy (Shakti) united in its three elementary aspects: Bhrahma Shakti (creation), Vishnu Shakti (preservation) and Shiva Shakti (liberation, and/or destruction). There is no connection between Shudras and Indus valley people other than a few people searching and trying to create connections. Shudras' place in society became rigid only in the later vedic age. Before that there was intermingling of castes. This leads to belief that Shudras are also "Aryas".
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re: "ONE GOD, ONE CREED" -[Part-1] Indus Valley Religion

Peace calypsodc,

As it is mentioned earlier that those names spread to the Indians. Their goddesses acquired them. Later these images were brought into Arabia by an Arab priest named "Amru bin Luhayy". This indicates that the Suvaa-u god belonged at first to the Sumerians, then to the Indians and finally to the Arabs. This Suvaa-u could very well be the Siva of the Indians.

The Story of the Cultural Empire of India, a historical book written in the light of archaelogical researches by P. Thomas. He says that definite records have not as yet been available, records which concern the religious consciousness of the Indus Valley inhabitants. The stature of the non-human Vrishabha (bull) discovered on innumerable seals, he opines, could perhaps be the image of their presiding deity. He also points out the most scholars have reached the conclusion that they were monotheists.

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re: “ONE GOD, ONE CREED” -[Part-1] Indus Valley Religion

Again, this is a circular argument full of holes. There has been no proof for the migration of sumerians to the Indus valley. Where is the historical proof of links between Lord Shiva and Suvaa-u. What did Suvaa-u look like atleast? Any resemblance to the pashupathi seal?

As for “The Story of the Cultural Empire of India by P. Thomas” who is this writer ? Who is this author? What are his credentials ? I can find no information on him. Try to read “Insearch of the cradle of civilization” by David Frawley.
Amazon.com: In Search of the Cradle of Civilization (9780835607414): Georg Feuerstein, Subhash Kak, David Frawley: Books
Atleast Frawley has his critics but even his theories and speculations seem more watertight and sensible when compared to Mr. P Thomas. I am saying this after reading your post which seems to be based on P Thomas’s research. I have not read his book but would very much like to read it if he is a distinguished scholar/historian.
But what I would like to know is where historians have deduced that Indus valley was polytheistic based on archeological findings, what poof do P Thomas and others like him even have to speculate the presence of monotheism in Indus valley? Without proper historical and archeological proof , what you are doing is like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole so that you can custom-fit to cater to your religious beliefs.

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re: “ONE GOD, ONE CREED” -[Part-1] Indus Valley Religion

Here’s a nice vid about the Indus Valley Civilization, they have a few theories on their religion(s)